Winds of Happiness

The novel "What Should You Do When the Wind Rises?" by young author Giai Du was awarded first prize in the first round of the 2025 Kim Dong Publishing House's Children's Literature writing competition. Giai Du said: "If you do these 20 things, you can step into the vast world out there with courage, compassion, and love."

The story, a young boy named Phong, lists 20 things to do when the wind blows, and his journey to accomplish them is deeply moving and courageous. Beginning with his move with his mother (a nurse) to a social welfare center where she cares for children affected by Agent Orange, Phong must gradually adapt to these tasks. These actions are intertwined with the subtle interpretations of his innocent yet complex childlike eyes and heart. From major events like moving house to minor things like savoring the sweetness of a candy, saying hello, planting a seed, or seemingly surreal acts like becoming a hero, crying, laughing, and saying goodbye... through the narrative of Giai Du (25 years old), using the perspective of a seemingly carefree child with a wealth of thoughts, associations, and reflections, everything becomes strangely captivating and compelling.

Highlights of What to do when it's windy ?

Without any fantastical details or magic, the work is simply a diary recording the sudden changes in life that a young boy cannot avoid. But Giai Du has breathed a gentle breeze into the work, soothing the sensitive soul of a child prone to change. The author employs a pure, relatable narrative style, minimizing the complexity of language. Giai Du explains seemingly horrific events in a simple way, yet it surprises the reader with its profound philosophical insights, such as explaining to his friends that victims of Agent Orange are not "monsters": "Whether ugly or beautiful, only those who harm others and refuse to repent are considered monsters." Therefore, how could the children, victims of Agent Orange at the social welfare center, with their deformed bodies and the difficulty of simply breathing and living normally, possibly become "monsters"? Conversely, as Phong perceived it, those friends were all "heroes": each had a heart, a heartbeat like a piece of music with many different melodies, and they were all heroes.

Children's novel: What to do when it gets windy? by author Giai Du

Photo: Viet Ha

The unique structure of the chapters in the work is also what makes it appealing to readers. Try reading it backward from the last chapter to the beginning, and the results are surprising. Giai Du revealed that this is his most special children's book: it contains very little folk material (which was his forte in previous works such as "Every Evening the Crow Talks to the Kite," "The Phosphorescent Star," and "Sue Heaven") , but the words have significant aesthetic weight, a mature writing style, a profound humanistic spirit, and above all, a worldview imbued with the love of childhood. Cleverly interwoven into the work is the spirit of protesting war crimes: innocent children are forced to live a precarious life because of the horrific Agent Orange that has afflicted their lives. Because of that poison, Phong had to say a heartbreaking farewell to a friend. This is the highlight that allowed the work to surpass more than 600 other works and convincingly win first prize.

Winds of Happiness

The wind is a special element that permeates this entire novel. It could be called the winds of happiness that Giai Du has carefully infused into the work. Starting with a mother who deeply loves the wind, the wind comes and accompanies her and her daughter throughout their turbulent journey. In the list of 20 things one should do (perhaps for a lifetime), the wind is never absent.

The wind brought many things to a boy. The wind is eternal. The wind is everywhere. "My mother said the wind is a good omen, a sign of happiness. Therefore, happiness is everywhere too..." The wind is ready to act on your behalf, sending a hug to your loved ones. The wind is also ready to comfort you when you are sad. "Sadness is like hills surrounded by open spaces. You climb the hills, cry without letting anyone know, and the winds on the hills will soothe your soul."

Therefore, on windy days, understand this: "Even though children know sadness, fear, and will cry, children's tears dry quickly." Instead of shying away from immense sorrow and loss, Giai Du calmly opens up a vast horizon of life before the children. There, she outlines 20 things a child must do to learn how to grow up, how to share love, how to remove the heavy stones from their heart, to embrace the wind and smile happily.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-ngon-gio-hanh-phuc-185260424224046934.htm